What Defines A Good Ups?

[quiksilva]

Given the stability of power supply in Thailand, a decent UPS seems like it should be an important part of the computer system, but its an area that I know very little about.

The one I am using at the moment doesn't seem to carry a decent battery charge. During the occasional brown out, say during a massive rainstorm, the electricity supply to the PC cuts off almost immediately, but ideally I'd like a few minutes to save my work and shutdown properly before the battery dies.

So what should I look out for when selecting a new UPS? Any particular brand?

Edited May 20, 2008 by quiksilva

[jfchandler]

See this TV thread of the past few days....

[opalhort]

I'd go for LEONICS. Have been using them since the beginning (12y ago) and never any problem. The very first one (1,000VA) is still running now on the third battery (replaced 4 years ago) and has never been switched off. It handles two PCs with LCD monitors, our router and a fax machine and can still hold the power for about 30 minutes.

Now we have four of them (the newer ones are only 500VA for single PCs) and are all doing a great job.

The only problem is that they don't have English language manuals.

Important is that your entire system including UPS is grounded.

opalhort

[Crossy]

During the occasional brown out, say during a massive rainstorm, the electricity supply to the PC cuts off almost immediately, but ideally I'd like a few minutes to save my work and shutdown properly before the battery dies.

I would suggest that a new set of batteries would be a good starting point, and cheaper than a new UPS

In the computing/data centre world there is only one UPS manufacturer, APC, they are widely regarded as THE best, they are not however, cheap.

As others have noted, Leonics are among the best of the rest on a price-performance basis.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Crossy